Six weeks ago, I got up, excited about journeying through Lent and celebrating Easter, and more, this year with you folks here at Spencerport. Who could have foretold what was in store for us over the next six weeks. So here I am after four hours of surgery, three weeks of post-surgery hospital care, one week in a structured rehab setting and now handling my continued rehab on an outpatient basis at home.

Much progress has been made toward my personal healing, but regaining lost strength and endurance takes time. Knowing this, I’ve had much time to reflect on just how God might be working in my own life through this experience. One of the things I’ve become aware of is the truly positive benefit one’s network (which is constantly changing), has on the process. Scripture tells us that we were all given gifts and we were expected to use those gifts for the benefit of others. Because of this, the diversity of gifts available for God to work through, the healing process can take place. For it is not just the highly qualified health care providers who are available to us, but don’t ever forget the power of prayer and presence that exists in our congregations, our families, and our friends who are available to help or extend a hand if needed. Lastly, do not ever forget the power of Jesus is this process, but the key is Jesus can’t do it alone, he needs each of us whenever we are called to help.

Thought I’d include a photo of two of the key members of my healing team, Dr. Christy McMorrow, neuro-surgeon, and Jesus (who spent the whole four weeks in the hospital with me thanks to Cheryl and Bella Ellsworth who located him and brought him to me).

We are looking forward to continued improvement and getting back to see you all soon.

Any gospel that is not good news to the poor, the oppressed or the least among us is simply not the gospel of Jesus Christ.Jim Wallis, Sojourners Magazine

I am not a fan of Twitter. I rarely look at Facebook. But I received a timely tweet recently sent out by a Jesuit priest named James Martin, who is also the editor of America Magazine, and I decided to share it.

He tweeted: "Jesus was from a "s***hole" place."

The minuscule Galilean town in which Joseph and Mary spent their lives and raised their son Jesus, was, quite literally, a joke. Can anything good come from Nazareth? asked one disciple, (John 1:46) when he heard where the Messiah was from. Some scholars posit that this was a popular saying in the 1st century. In any event, Nazareth was on the fringes of the Roman Empire. Roman roads avoided it until the 2nd century. Jesus came from a backwater of a backwater; he and his mother and father, were most likely considered throwaway people.

It seems to me that if Jesus taught us anything it would be that these folks, from throwaway places, are exactly the folks that we want to welcome into our communities.

That just about says it all, and I can’t explain it any better than that, so I won’t try.

Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Good News Bible)

Three words are usually associated with the period between when one pastor leaves and another arrives – change, transition and transformation, three words which often provoke anxious uncomfortable feelings among many of us. What lies before us is unknown and more often than not, will involve doing things differently. Yes, embracing this time requires each one of us to trust that the writers of Ecclesiastes knew what they were saying when they said, Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses, at the time God needs to have it done.

We live in a rapidly changing world and the only thing that has not changed is God’s presence and the need for that presence in our lives. However, quite often a church does not believe it needs, or at least that it wants, to change. Unfortunately congregations, like all organizations need to change the ways they do things if they want to reach and hold on to new people, this is how they grow. Different people have different experiences, different gifts and often have different ideas, and God has placed them in our midst for a reason. We constantly need to be looking and moving toward a future that God is calling us to. Perhaps that is one reason why the Bible is full of prophets like Isaiah who arrive proclaiming words like, See I am doing a new thing!...I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Is 43:19). For it is new things like that, which break through barriers that hold us to the past.

One of my roles as your interim pastor is working through this period with you and helping you, as individuals and as a congregation discover and recognize those things which might lead you to new places in the desert. It becomes a time to revisit your mission and perhaps reset your vision; to ask questions like, Who are we? What is God calling us to do? or questions like, Who has God placed on our doorstep? Who are we called to minister to?

Yes, this may be the time God has decided a transformation needs to take place here at Spencerport. Perhaps this is why we all have been placed here together at this time. As you take to time to access your strengths and your weaknesses, to refocus your sense of your identity and mission, new understandings of your past and directions for your future will emerge. One of the keys to this is being patient, of not feeling the urgency to move any more quickly than God wants us to move. This is where an understanding of the wisdom articulated by the writers of Ecclesiastes when they said, There is a time to embrace and a time to change (3:5). This I suspect, may be one of those times.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

Thank you for a wonderful 8 years together. Thank you for the memories that I will carry with me as I go. Thank you for the gifts and expressions of love that you have shared in these past weeks. Thank you, my friends.

If you are ever near Centralia IL, please stop by. Worship at Zion United Church of Christ in Central City is at 9:30 each Sunday. (The address is 101 N. Broadway, Centralia IL 62801.)

I trust in God. I know that as I go, God will be with me (and will even find me a house). I know, as well, that God will continue to bless each of you.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Now I have lots of favorite passages of scripture, but the passage above is one of my favorite favorites. And it seems appropriate for Thanksgiving, so I’m using it again. (I’ve used it at least four times in articles for the newsletter and sermons over the eight years I’ve been here!)

Be joyful all the time! Don’t worry, just pray! Let your minds think about Jesus Christ! Paul’s words to the church in Philippi are pretty simple. But most of us have a hard time relaxing into that kind of attitude.

So, here’s what I do. When things get really stressful I close my eyes and take a deep breath and say those words (or sing them) – “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.” And sometimes I sing the whole chorus. And sometimes I just stop there. And sometimes I say the entire passage. The words tend to help me focus once more on Jesus Christ.

I’ve challenged you many times over the past few years. So here’s another one. Memorize these verses. Then when your life seems to be getting out of hand say them out loud or to yourself. And breathe in the Spirit and rejoice!Pastor Nancy

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make knownamong the nations what he has done. Sing to him, singpraise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” (Psalm 105:1-2)

Have you ever tried to list all the wonderful things God has done for you? I did that once. I must have been in Junior High School, and I thought if the Psalmist could do that, maybe I should too. I sat down at age about 13, and started listing.

By the time I got past all the people in my family who loved me and who I loved, and the people who were friends to me and made my life happy, I was already feeling pretty overwhelmed.

To the best of my memory, I only wrote a few other things down – like living in Virginia, having a home and food, having clothes to wear, and so forth, before I quit. By then I had a couple of pages. If I had kept going I could have filled a whole notebook.

If I did something like that today, it would fill a whole folder of my computer! God has been good to me.

I know the psalm that I quoted from goes on to something else. But those first two verses make me remember that we ought to remember! We ought to remember the wonderful love that God gives to us. We ought to remember all that we have and are through God’s grace. We ought to remember the mercy that has been shown to us because of Christ’s love.

My challenge to you is to think about all the wonderful things God has done for you. You can make a list if you like. You can write them down if you like. But remember, friends, that God’s wonderful acts surround us. And sing praise to him!

When I was growing up, I remember singing a gospel hymn that began: “True-hearted, whole-hearted, faithful and loyal.” It went on to remind us that our God has always been faithful and true to the promises. I looked for the hymn, but didn’t find it – I’m sure it’s in a book somewhere. I just remember it felt like a marching hymn that was a reminder of all that God has done for us.

In the midst of the very long Psalm 119, is a verse that says, “Thy promise is well tried, and thy servant loves it.” In other words: You, O God, have always followed through on the promises you’ve made to me.

There have probably been times in my life when God of my life has been frustrated with me. There have certainly been times in my life when I have wondered (like the Psalmist) where God is in the midst of trying times. But always, always, always God has been there faithful and true.

That’s quite a claim. I don’t know of any people who can claim that. And friends, it is that God whose promises are true and faithful that we are called to serve. We are to be true-hearted for our God. We are to be faithful and loyal to the God of love and mercy and grace. We are to serve others around us and share that love with them.

Often in worship and Bible study we are reminded that we are to remember. When we share in the feast of Communion, we are to remember Jesus’ love and care for us. When we think of the 10 Commandments given to us in scripture, we are to remember God’s love for us and expectations of us.

And the fourth Commandment listed in Exodus is: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

That goes on and has quite an explanation as to how it is to be carried out. That has always seemed to me to mean that it is extremely important. We are to keep a Sabbath – a time of remembering.

I know that it’s hard to keep Sundays as a Sabbath. Some people are required to work. Some people have obligations that fall on Sunday. Some people are busy and need that day to “catch up.”

But, in the explanation that follows that statement above, we are told that it is important to have time for rest for our minds, spirits, and bodies. And it ends with these words: “therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

So, if Sunday is not a day that you can use as your Sabbath and day of worship and meditation, find another day. Set aside a day as your Sabbath and find renewal and strength and holiness.

A Note From The Pastor

Summertime is coming! I trust that it is going to happen because it has happened for many years in the past.

Now summer often means that many folks from the congregation will be out of town on week-ends for camping or vacations or sports activities. That means we see fewer folks in the pews. That’s sad, but understandable.

The seasons roll around all during the year. And wintertime means that many folks will be south to escape the winter weather. And we see fewer folks in the pews. That’s also sad, but also understandable.

The tendency of many of us is to say, well there won’t be many folks at worship today, so I’ll just stay home, also. And that’s just sad.

Paul wrote to Timothy as he was continuing his ministry in the church:

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

And so, the church will continue to minister throughout all the seasons. We will continue to reach out in Christ’s name. We will continue to be Christ’s people doing ministry. Come join us as you are able.

Pastor Nancy

Right in the middle of the 37th Psalm are three verses that I have always loved. The whole of the Psalm is really a good lesson in how to live as God’s people. And these three verses are really lovely.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:3-5)

One of the things we often forget as we think about faith is that we have a responsibility to our God. The three verses above remind us of some of that. We are to trust in God, take delight in God, and commit our way to God. And then God will act.

We are called to be about the business of being God’s people. We are not to sit back and wait for God to simply take care of us. When we allow ourselves to hope, we are expected to live in hope. When we believe and have faith, we are expected to reach out to others in Christ’s name. When we trust in God, we are expected to follow God’s leading.

My challenge to you is: if you already know this passage from Psalm 37, repeat it to yourself every day for one whole week. If you don’t already know it, memorize it so you can repeat it to yourself every day for one whole week. If we do that, I wonder what God might have in store for us?